Saturday, April 19, 2014

Hwarangs: Boy Band of Silla Kingdom

Boy bands had become a part of the well-known and popular Korean
Wave or Hallyu. Groups, such as TVXQ, Super Junior, Exo, Infinite, and many
others had captured the minds and ears of many fans. Most the members
undergone rigorous training and developed their artistic talents. But back in
the time of Korea’s Three Kingdoms Period, one boy band only dominated Korea.
But instead of dancing, singing, and other artistic talents, this boy group
gave also importance to military prowess. This group of young and brave boys
were known as the Hwarangs.

The hwarangs were a military corp of the Silla Kingdom of Korea. They were
formed during the sixth century and comprised of teenage adolescent males from
the aristocracy. They devote themselves to Buddhism, but later, turned to
Confucianism. They protected their country bravely and loyally. They became a
driving force for the creation of a united Korean peninsula. Ironically, after
the unification, the hwarangs started declined.

The
hwarangs or the Circle of Knights of the Flower Boys began during the reign of
King Chinhung of Silla Kingdom (r. 540 – 576). In a very volatile region, where
war was allways a threat, the King wanted to create a new elite fighting unit.
The unit would be the driving force for the interest of the Silla Kingdom
against its other two power ful kingdoms of Koguryo to the north and Baekje to
the west. In order to have recruits for his new elite unit, the king used two very
beautiful girls to entice men to join. Nammo and Chungjung were the two poster
girls for men to join the unit.

Competition,
however, became the next subject of the two girls. Chungjung, became jealous of
the other. She thought perhaps that Nammo was gaining more attention and
brought more recruits than her. To gain absolute attention and her beauty to be
more well-known, she decided to kill Nammo. No bad deeds, however, came
unpunished. She was caught by the authorities and then later executed. With
the failure of poster girl tactics to entice men to join the new unit, the King
did another way to attract men to join. He ordered good looking and charming boys,
mostly from the noble family, to join. He then ordered the boys to be groomed
to make them look more feminine, so as to make more men to join. The young
beautiful boys were called flower boys, thus the name of the Hwarangs or Circle
of the Knights of the Flower Boys was made. The strategy of using good looking
boys proved to be effective. It indeed attract others to join until the numbers
became enough to be used in war. The
hwarangs were trained as soldiers as well as thaught to be cultured men. The
training groomed them to become a devout Buddhist and followers of Confucianism
later when it arrived in Korea. Before entering the corp, one must have a
beautiful face, in order to give justice to the name of the unit. He must then
take an oath of loyalty to the state and proceed with a ceremonial initiation.
The hwarangs were then trained to be specialized in all types of fighting
skills. They were taught to be a good swordsmen, archers, as well as, horseback
riding. They were also made to specialize in hand to hand combat, for example the
martial art of taekyeon, which later evolved into taekwondo. As culture men, they
played music. They dance. They wrote poetry. But most of all they are expected
to follow and honor the 5 Rules of Wongwang, a Buddhist monk. According to the
five rules, a person must embody the following: 1) loyalty to the king; 2) Must
practice filial piety or respect to the parents and elders; 3) Loyalty to one’s
friend; 4) Must not retreat in battle; 5) must not kill without a good reason.
This way of life of the hwarang was later to become known as hwarangdo. For
the next hundred years, the Hwarangs continued to gained popularity and
significance. They defended Silla with their live. They played a key role in
unifying the Korean Peninsula by fighting the other two rival kingdoms, Baekche
and Koguryo. They finally succeeded when in 668, the last of the two kingdoms,
Koguryo, fell to the hands of Silla. Because of the end of war, some hwarangs
returned to normal life and left military service. The numbers dwindle till
there were only few and decided to disband. But the legacy of the Hwarang remains visible. This artistically and militarily talented group of soldiers helped to forge the Korea we see today. If our favorite K-pop groups from SM, YG, JYP and other entertainment agencies spread Korea to the world, don't forget that the Korea they represent was made by this young boys turned men by war.

Hulbert, H. The History of Korea. Seoul: The Methodist Publishing House, 1905. Seth, M. A History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2011. Shaw, Scott. Advanced Taekwondo. Vermont: Turtle Publishing, 2006. Yi. K. A New History of Korea. Massachusetts: Published for the Harvard-Yenching Institute by Harvard University Press, 1984.